TravelswithCharie

Candombe, Carlos Páez Vilaró  Uruguay's Carnaval is a spellbinding experience that showcases the country's rich Afro-Uruguayan cultural heritage. While it may not be as widely known as its Brazilian or Argentine counterparts, Uruguay's Carnaval has its own distinct flavor and charm. What is also not widely known is that Uruguay’s Carnaval is the longest celebration of its kind in the world. It starts in late January and continues to March every year. The Carnaval celebrated in Uruguay has deep Afro-Uruguayan roots dating back to the 18th century when enslaved Africans brought their musical and dance traditions to the country. These traditions live on in the annual celebration of Carnaval  featuring impassioned drumming, engaging dance performances and dazzling costumes. The pulse of Uruguay's Carnaval is the Candombe rhythm, a style of music and dance that originated in the African diaspora. The pulsating beat of the Candombe drums echoes through the streets, inspiring ...

Museo del Carnaval (Carnival Museum) Montevideo amazed me with all it has to offer its visitors. I was lucky to have met up with a good friend who was living in Uruguay for a few months and she had a lot of great ideas of what we should see and do. So off we went to explore the city starting at the Carnival museum which chronicles its beginnings in the 18th century and the huge influence of African culture in the longest carnival celebration in the world. More on this under a separate post. Address: 218 25 de Agosto de 1825 Street across from Montevideo Port and next door to the Mercado del Puerto. Itinerary Day 1 Carnival Museum Mercado del Puerto (Port Market) Lunch at Es Mercat  Dessert stop at Alfajores del Uruguay Teatro Solis solo dance performance (free) Coffee break at Solis Theater café Teatro Solis evening modern dance performance Day 2 Salvo Palace Tango museum Independence Square Metropolitan Cathedral Constitution Square Lunch at Jacinto Zabala Square Mercado del Puer...

La Pieta, Pablo Atchugarry, 1983, Carrara marble Just as the world was coming out of the pandemic, the Museum of Contemporary Art Atchugarry (MACA) was inaugurated in January 2022 to great fanfare in the rustic town of Manantiales in Uruguay. Here in the wide open spaces are a museum, the studio of Atchugarry, a permanent gallery for his works, an amphitheater, a chapel, an art store, and seventy five pieces of sculpture scattered throughout the well-groomed grounds. Both local and international artists are represented in the Park and in the Museum. A day at the park is exactly what I needed after a big lunch at the seaside town of Jose Ignacio. Atchugarry was born in Montevideo and was encouraged by his parents to dabble in the arts at an early age. He had his first art exhibition at eleven years of age. As he matured and after trips abroad, he began to explore the use of various medium for his works including marble which he found in Italy and which is the material he uses the most f...